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Opinions on Spirit Air

sharod

By sharod,
in Cruise Air

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sharod

sharod

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Hey, thanks for the fast replies!!!!!! I am just hesitant about flying an airline that I have never flown before. I know that my cruise is over 1 year away, but once it is booked, it's like I am obsessed. I frequently check airlines to see who is offering the best deal at the moment. (Not that it won't change!!!) Right now Spirit Air has the best rates!!!!!!

 

Thanks again!!!

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DEL67

DEL67

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We have flown Spirit several times with no real issues. In fact, they seem to take better care of my husband's wheelchair than most of the major airlines. Of course, there are sometimes delays, but in our experience, they are usually ones that all airlines like the weather or airport congestion.

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jerseygirl3

jerseygirl3

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We've been flying Spirit Airlines for over 15 years. Bequia is not correct; their planes are not all old. They have just purchased a brand new fleet of planes and the ones before that were just as good, if not better, than the ones used by any other airline I've flown. I've never had any issues with them whatsoever, and we fly 3-4 times a year. That amounts to a heck of a lot of flights with Spirit, and we've never had a problem. Never had a delay and the staff is very courteous and professional. I would not hesitate to recommend them.

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Bequia

Bequia

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They are currently in the process of replacing their old planes with new Airbus 320's. They alreadyhave a few flying.

 

I'm so glad to hear that. I flew Spirit twice about 6 years ago. Both times were bad experiences. I vowed never to fly them again. From the sounds of the posts I'm reading here it appears that they have cleaned up their act. I guess it's time to try Spirit again, it sounds like I'm missing out on what's become a decent airline. :rolleyes:

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parody

parody

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They are currently in the process of replacing their old planes with new Airbus 320's. They already have a few flying.

 

Pertaining to timing on aircraft acquisition, their website says: The Spirit Airlines all jet fleet consists of McDonnell Douglas MD-80s, Airbus A319 and Airbus A321 aircraft. Spirit is committed to being an all Airbus fleet by early 2007.

 

Elsewhere, their existing fleet is described as follows: New Airbus A319 & A321 aircraft with all leather interiors, moveable headrests and extra large overhead bins.

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JoanieBlon

JoanieBlon

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My husband and I flew Spirit from Tampa to Cancun over the New Years weekend. First off, we were SUPPOSED to have a direct 55 minute flight from Tampa to Cancun leaving Tampa at 11:00am, but after Wilma, our flight schedule was changed. We left Tampa at 8am and hung out in Ft. Lauderdale until noon (supposedly) and then flew to Cancun from there. Our plane was first delayed leaving Ft. Lauderdale by about 1 hour because they were unable to tow the plane around from one side on the concourse to the other "due to heavy traffic." Once we were ON the plane, the flight was delayed even more because they decided that all checked bags needed to be x-rayed again before leaving. The leg room was VERY TIGHT ~ about the worse I have ever seen on any airline. I am 5'2" so it was OK for me, but my husband is 6'4"! Thank goodness the flight was just over 1 hour long.

 

NORMALLY, Mexican Immigration and Customs forms are passed out in flight so they can be filled out BEFORE you reach the terminal. NOPE. NO FORMS. Everyone was pointing fingers at whose responsibility it should have been. When we got to Cancun, we were first given Immigration forms IN the Terminal (WHAT CHAOS! No place to write but on the WALLS!). After that, we needed to go to a table and pick up the Customs Declaration. NO help here...it was kinda of "do this by osmosis." I have NEVER seen such inefficiency!

 

On our return trip, apart from the "normal" chaos in the Cancun Airport, Spirit had to HAND WRITE our boarding passes. You can only imagine how much that slowed things down! They hand inspect checked luggage. See the photos below!

 

The return flight left about 1/2 to one hour late. Upon arrival in Ft. Lauderdale, we had ANOTHER supposed 3 hour wait for our connecting flight to Tampa. ALL of Spirit's flights to the Northeast were delayed, so the small concourse was PACKED with people, who resorted to sitting and laying on the floor due to insufficient seating.

 

Our brief flight to Tampa boarded at LEAST 1-1/2 hours behind schedule and when everyone was IN the plane, they discovered that they had oberbooked the flight. HOW could this happen? Normally overbooking is dealt with at the gate. After passenger and flight attendents almost got into a fist fight, we FINALLY got underway. We arrived inTampa about 3 hours behind schedule. :mad:

 

The price is CHEAP bit the service STINKS. I am willing to give Spirit ONE MORE TRY...when and IF they start up direct service from Tampa to Cancun. Right now, they are on my DO NOT FLY under ANY circumstances list...along with America West. :mad: :mad:

 

airport1.jpg

 

airport2.jpg

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jerseygirl3

jerseygirl3

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Joanie, you wouldn't believe the stories I could tell you about USAir and United, just to name a couple of airlines. No airline is perfect. I have to say I've been flying Spirit for over 15 years, and never encountered the problems you mentioned. Maybe I've been lucky (we fly Atlantic City non-stop to various cities in Florida).

 

BTW, my son could tell you some horrendous stories flying in and out of O'Hare and not on Spirit.

 

Unfortunate things can happen to any airline.

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jerseygirl3

jerseygirl3

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Oh, one other thing. Talking about overbooking a flight, about 8 years ago, my husband and I boarded a flight on USAir and after being seated in the seats we were assigned, an elderly couple came up and said we were in their seats. They apparently were given the same seat assignments that we were given. We politely gave up our seats to them and began searching for new seats. I found an empty seat, but my husband did not. As he was walking up and down the aisles looking for a seat, the plane pushed back. The stewardess was yelling at him from the back of the plane to take a seat. He answered that he would love to, but there were none to be had. Would you believe the plane took off with him standing in the aisle???!!! (found out later this could have resulted in a huge fine for USAir from the FAA). Anyway, once we were airbound, the stewardess unbuckled and started looking for a seat for my husband. Since there were none, she asked a couple who had an 8 -year-old child with them if they would mind keeping her on their lap for the flight (luckily it was only a 2 1/2 hour flight). She told them they would receive 3 free tickets for doing so. They agreed, and my husband took her seat. They also brought the couple a bottle of champagne. My husband was offered nothing.

 

Now mind you, we weren't looking for anything, but it is inexcusable for an airplane to actually take off overbooked by one passenger. Had we known better we would have filed a complaint, but we were too naive to know any better.

 

So it's not just USAir that has problems...they all do. And in my opinion, Spirit is one of the better airlines. And BTW, their flights aren't always so cheap.

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wieslaw

wieslaw

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Hi,

we flew on Spirit's brand new planes (Air Bus 321) from DTW to SJU (stop in MCO) on Dec 10, 2005 and back on Dec 17, 2005. New planes, friendly and on time service. Did catch their internet 'special' - so the price was very good ( $300.00). No food service in the main cabin - small snacks are offered for sale. Complimentry beverage, alcoholic drinks can be purchased only with credit cards - no cash accepted. They still have the old standard 70lbs limit for each bag. I am 6.2 and had enough leg room.

 

Wes

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palmtre2

palmtre2

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We used to fly Spirit out of ACY because their pricing was the best in the PHL area. We now check around because we have quite a few new discounters in the area such as USA3000 and Southwestern. Do check your local airports website for their list of ALL of the airlines they service - then start checking.

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